I have selected and copied everything I could. Now I’ll try to see if it all fits in one comment:
From Il Tarantiniano
Work reviewed by Il Tarantiniano
on February 14 in the late afternoon
and rated: ????
Genres: Progressive Metal
Web info: Dream Theater
Related works: Images and Words
Related artists: Dream Theater «I have always wondered if it’s just a coincidence that the anagram of Dream is Merda.»
Samples: Add a sample
I’ll start by saying one thing: I really like Dream Theater, but I’m not as crazy about them as many of their fans who go to see them in concert. Honestly, I would much rather listen to one of their CDs at home than listen to them live for almost three hours, and I’ll explain why right away: I find them to be truly excellent and superb musicians, with great drive and technique, from John Petrucci, a god of super speed on guitar, to Mike Portnoy, one of the best drummers in the genre and perhaps in rock in general, while I have always found LaBrie’s voice unbearable... very high, of course, with a great vocal timbre and a frightening vibrato, but it doesn’t evoke (at least for me) the emotions that someone like Robert Plant or Ian Gillan, two other titans who sing with soul, can provide.
But now let’s review the album: I don’t dislike their albums, I especially find this one well made and well constructed. However, "Images And Words" is indeed full of excellent things but also contains absolutely cold stuff just thrown in there to stretch the songs and make them hard to play (we all understand that Dream Theater is complicated).
1) "Pull Me Under" is a very nice piece, perhaps one of the simpler songs in terms of compositions on the whole album, because it’s not overloaded with too many changes or solos that are thrown in carelessly, but I instead find it a very powerful song with a great guitar solo (between "As I Am" and this one, I don’t know which is stronger). The only drawback? The ending is too rushed... 8/10
2) "Another Day" is one of the few non-metal songs on the album, but it’s almost a pop melody with good lyrics and good engagement, although after a few minutes it becomes too repetitive. The guitar solo in the interlude is very nice, and LaBrie’s voice in this song at least manages to bring down a small tear. 7/10
3) "Take The Time" is one of the most beautiful songs on the entire album: the beginning, with the drum intro and Petrucci’s solo, envelops the listener with their powerful energy. Even when LaBrie’s voice enters, the song has various changes in rhythm and timing that fit, especially the chorus is very beautiful... but starting from the fifth minute, the song begins to wear a bit thin for one reason: those damned continuous changes and super-fast solos that repeat haphazardly ruin the atmosphere. Just when the song seems to be ruined, fortunately towards the end of the sixth minute, the beautiful ending saves the whole thing. Great, but for me, if they had removed some superficial nonsense, it might have been a much more engaging song. 7.5/10
4) "Surrounded" is a beautiful song with a lovely piano intro. The verse, despite being very pop, is very nice, especially in the transition to the chorus. Once again, LaBrie’s voice can be heard, and it seems he is more suited for this kind of song, because he engages a lot. The song then ends as it began. The result is very good, one of the least technical and more emotional. 8/10
5) "Metropolis" is an underrated and overrated masterpiece at the same time: the beautiful keyboard and guitar intro and the arrival of Portnoy’s drums create an almost theatrical beginning that transports the listener into a unique atmosphere, almost as if in ancient Greece, or so it seems to me with that catchy initial keyboard sound. But then the horror returns: at a certain point, the listener finds themselves assaulted by horrible and continuous senseless and boring super-fast solos, which break the flow after just a few minutes. Overall,